Monthly Archives: July 2017

For those of you who have rented their whole lives and then buy a home to live in, all of a sudden you find yourself a handy man. With that comes doing things like looking at the roof and checking the downspouts and working your way down the building. We are going to learn how and why it is important to keep your gutters clean.

As the gutters become clogged due to leaves or small branches and the like, the water will be trapped inside. As it fills with water it will become heavy and may fall off of your home. To put that into perspective, one gallon of water weighs just over eight pounds.Think about how many gallons of water it would hold before falling off the structure.

Toward the top of your home, there is a wooden board that runs the length of the home. The gutters are placed and secured in the front of this wooden board. This is bare wood with nothing protecting it. If it fills with water the board will get wet and you will have rotten wood. Standing water also entices mosquitoes to lay eggs to hatch. You then have a serious mosquito issue.

Now that the decision has been made to finally clean up that gutter, you will need a pair of gloves, a small garbage bag, and small shovel and the ladder. Find a friend to hold the ladder secure while you work. Using your hand or shovel dig out all the sticks and yard trash, do this in each gutter. Then rinse with the garden hose while checking for good strong water flow.

Every so often you need to look at the screws that hold the gutters onto the home, make sure they are tight and secure. Doing this helps prevent it from coming lose and pulling out of the wall. This is a small thing you can do to ensure that your property is safe to walk around on. Check the other things around your home for safety sake.

To sum it up, you now understand the importance of keeping those gutters cleaned. Perhaps by marking your calendar in June and once in November to remind yourself the time has come to clean them again. Twice a year will be sufficient maintenance. In essence you are preventing wood rot and pests along with the hazard of having the gutter system from falling. Remind your neighbor to do theirs as well.